Can i get more info on Mantis Kung-Fu

Search-Fu has failed me because searching for Mantis leads to "mr.mantis" being bolded over and over.

I currently train in MT, and although i love my school, its a bit heavy on my pockets given how much i can train since college is starting again, so through PM'ng 1 of the members on bullshido (who isnt frequent) i got info on a Sanshou school close by which i was invited to try on the 10th of Sept.

However in addition to having sanshou they also teach mantis kung-fu, what exactly is mantis kung fu ?, can it be practiced with reasonable contact and be efficient ?

there is more styles in the mantis style, oh wow
no idea, its just written mantis style in the e-mail he sent me.

okay, lets try it another way, are there mantis style kung fu that is practiced with reasonable contact and is efficient ?
anything i have to watch out for or ask ?

I know, and this worries me, its not possible to spar with wrist strikes, WTF

you can check if they have a professional fight record in kickboxing or sanshou, or even in MMA

also ask to see if you can try the class for a week or so, so you can get a feel of what they are doing, so you can see if there is reasonable contact in practice

the style of Mantis I practiced, had a lot of throws and takedowns, which were set up by strikes - it is efficient in teaching you really fast how to throw and take people to the ground, in a relatively short period - so that is one sign to see if it is efficient.

Mantis teaches a lot of conditioning drills for hand sensitivity, and some of their tactics are similar to western boxing - say hit low, move in and hit high, etc. The system has a lot of thought as they prepare you for many scenarios, say after you throw a jab, if he ducks, you grab him by the back of the head, and one of their arms, knee him and throw him - just an example. I would say a mantis fighter is very unpredictable, & herky jerky, and a simple strike could be disguised as a setup, for say another strike or throw or lock.

standing now though, I am not quite sure what style of mantis and what there cirriculumn may be...I am basing it off of what I learned in Praying Mantis

Here are a few examples of very decent northern mantis. Yes, there is some kung fooey stuff in the system, and most of what exists on youtube is pretty shitty. You have to understand in CMA this is how CONCEPTS were handed down. You are NOT expected to fight like you are imitating the animal in DA STREET, but instead use the concepts behind the forms. You'll see.

First is Michael Dasargo's school in San Diego. He he and his students illustrate some parallels between the boxing sets and applications. The apps are all on compliant partners.

Finally is Illya Profitalov who teaches in CT, who is using movements from a northern mantis form in application (still with a compliant partner). At this point you should still see the concepts of northern mantis (I do anyway), but it is no longer direct form imitation.

You have to understand in CMA this is how CONCEPTS were handed down. You are NOT expected to fight like you are imitating the animal in DA STREET, but instead use the concepts behind the forms. You'll see.

I'm a student at the very school in question and that is their exact philosophy.

On the traditional side, they teach North Praying Mantis as well as Baji and other lesser-know styles. They occasionally dabble in Shuai Chiao / Shuai Jiao too every now and then but that's mostly when Shuai Chiao experts come for a visit.

On the combat sports side of things they teach kickboxing ("international style" as I've heard it called before AKA K-1 style), Sanshou and grappling / submissions.

No one that I know of has competed at the pro level yet (though many schools and organizations have often tried to headhunt the main Sanshou instructor) but lots of students have participated in local, provincial, national and international (mostly in the US) kung-fu, sanshou and kickboxing tournaments and one-offs. And many of the current Sanshou students will be trying out for the provincial / national Sanshou team next year.